Pumpkin Roll Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Roll with cream cheese frosting topped with powdered sugar.

4.20 from 5 votes

Pumpkin Roll Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting

🎃🧡🍂 With my EASY pumpkin roll recipe and clear directions, you're going to be a pumpkin roll pro! No dish towel required to roll up my classic pumpkin roll cake that's full of rich pumpkin spice flavor and tangy cream cheese frosting! A fall favorite that all pumpkin fans will just ADORE! Freezes well and makes a great hostess gift!

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Cooling Time1 30

Total Time2 5

Course: Cakes & Cupcakes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cream cheese pumpkin roll, easy pumpkin roll recipe, how to make a pumpkin roll, pumpkin cream cheese roll, pumpkin cream cheese roll cake, pumpkin roll cake, pumpkin roll recipes, pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling

Servings: servings

Calories: 309cal

Author: Averie Sunshine

Equipment

1 (15x10x1-inch) Jelly Roll Pan
1 Small Bowl
2 Large Bowls
1 Electric Mixer

Ingredients

Pumpkin Roll Cake

¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
⅔ cup canned pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces brick-style cream cheese well-softened to room temp (not lite or fat free)**
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter well-softened to room temp**
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners sugar sifted; plus more for dusting, optional
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Instructions

Cake

Preheat your oven to 375F and spray a
15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with parchment paper and then spray the parchment paper. Don't be shy with spraying it because you don't want your cake to stick!
To a small bowl, add the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, any additional spices (see Notes below), and whisk to combine; set aside.
To a large bowl, add the eggs, sugar, and whisk to combine.
Add the pumpkin puree, lemon juice, and whisk to combine.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, and stir until just combined.
Turn the batter out into the prepared jelly roll pan, and bake for 15 minutes. Because this is such a thin cake, it bakes very fast. Start checking at 10 minutes and when it is set in the middle, springy to the touch, and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, it's done.
While the cake is still hot, starting at a short side, roll the cake up into a roll. Note - you are NOT rolling it up with the parchment paper, just the cake; let the parchment stay on the jelly roll pan. Also, no need to turn it out into a kitchen dish towel like many classic recipes instruct.*** (See Notes)
Cool the cake for 20 minutes at room temp (you can let it sit on the parchment paper) and then place it loosely covered with plastic wrap and resting on the parchment paper in the fridge for 30 minutes. While the cake is cooling make the frosting.

Frosting

To a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and beat on high speed until well combined.
Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and slowly add the confectioners' sugar, beating on low speed at first and increasing to high after the sugar is incorporated. Beat until smooth and fluffy.
Remove the cooled cake and carefully unroll it.
Spread the frosting evenly over the cake, spreading it out to the edges.
Roll the cake back up and cover it with plastic wrap.
Place in back in the refrigerator for an additional 30 minutes, or until ready to serve.
Optionally dust with additional confectioners' sugar.
Slice into 1 inch slices and serve. Pumpkin roll will keep airtight for up to 5 days in the fridge or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

*If you like more boldly spiced pumpkin desserts like I do, I recommend adding 2 to 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie seasoning, plus 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon each ground ginger and cardamon, and 1/4 each teaspoon ground nutmeg and cloves. Of course, you can mix and match these spices to your personal taste preferences, but I always add more than just the 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice because I love boldly flavored pumpkin desserts.

**Make sure to heed my advice to use well-softened, room temp cream cheese and butter, and sifted confectioners’ sugar. It will make your job far easier and will produce a much better final result.

***Although many, or usually most, roll-style desserts call for turning the cake out into a kitchen towel, with this pumpkin roll recipe there is no need to roll the cake up in a towel.

For the first rolling (without frosting) keep the cake on the parchment paper and while the cake is still warm, roll the cake up, starting at the short end. Then in steps 11 and 12, you unroll it, and roll it up with the frosting applied.

Nutrition